N3 Engine Overhaul Services (N3) marked the start of its expansion with a Feb. 23 ground-breaking ceremony. The joint venture between Lufthansa Technik and Rolls-Royce plc. is massively expanding its building complex. The main construction works that are now beginning include:
- Expansion of the cleaning line for engine components to double process capacity. The state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant that goes with it saves energy and reduces freshwater consumption by up to 90 percent.
- Construction of a 6,000 m² extension to the existing production hall to expand the technical machining centres and assembly areas.
Finally, construction of a new logistics building, which will also include automated storage systems, is scheduled to begin in autumn.
The expansion will take place while operations continue and with increasing capacity utilization.
Carsten Behrens, Managing Director at N3, said: "The decision of the parent companies to continue the long-term development of the joint venture values the expertise and extensive experience the team has built up over 17 years with Rolls-Royce Trent engines, including the latest generation of the Trent 1000."
N3 has developed its own professional qualification program for career changers and has been training its own specialists since the start of operations. The company now has six vocational training programs in its portfolio.
"In order to counter the shortage of skilled labour, we are also expanding our international recruiting measures," says Stefan Landes, Commercial Managing Director of N3. "A welcoming corporate culture is essential for the sustainable development of the location."
With an increase in demand for intercontinental travel since 2022 and the associated high demand for maintenance services for Rolls-Royce engines, the collaboration between the N3 shareholders was taken to the next level with a new joint business plan. This paved the way for an expansion to increase the plant's capacity to up to 250 engines per year in the long term. N3 is investing around 150 million euros in the facility's expansion.
N3 is a European center of excellence for the maintenance and repair of Rolls-Royce Trent engines. The joint venture between Lufthansa Technik AG and Rolls-Royce plc. is based just outside Arnstadt, in Thuringia's largest industrial area "Erfurter Kreuz." More than 950 employees, including 25 trainees, service engines for more than 50 international airlines on behalf of Rolls-Royce. The current N3 product portfolio includes the Rolls-Royce Trent 700, Trent 900, Trent XWB, Trent 1000 TEN and Trent 500 engines (serviceability checks, tests on demand). In 2023, 132 engines were overhauled; in 2024, this figure is set to rise by up to 50 percent.
